Russell Rathbun is the curator of The Hardest Question. He’s also a preacher at House of Mercy in St. Paul, Minnesota and the author of several books, including Midrash on the Juanitos(Cathedral Hill Press, 2010).Russell’s THQ posts |
Jodi-Renee Adams is a mess of heretical orthodoxy serving the Evangelical Covenant Church. She pastors Ecclesia Denver and does her best to write evangelical liturgy that has beauty and truth and not too many fluffy adjectives. The rest of her time is spent giving rest to Denver’s weary souls at her gigs as a jazz and soul singer. Jodi-Renee’s THQ posts |
Mike Baughman is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church. He is the co-author of one book and has contributed to a long list of books, curricula, resources and research. He also trains and consults with churches non-profits and small businesses on social media and how it can be used to help their work and ministry. He lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife (also a pastor) and four kids. You can learn more about him at www.mikebaughman.com , follow him on twitter @ireverant and read his blog, ireverant.wordpress.com. Mike’s THQ posts |
Debbie Blue is one of the founding pastors of House of Mercy in St. Paul, MN, the author of Sensual Orthodoxy and From Stone to Living Word. She lives on a farm with her family, friends, and animals.Debbie’s THQ posts |
Nadia Bolz-Weber is the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. She is the author of Salvation on the Small Screen? 24 Hours of Christian Television (Seabury, 2008) and blogs at Sarcastic Lutheranand at God’s Politics. Nobody really believes she’s an ordained pastor in the ELCA. Maybe it’s the sleeve tattoos or the fact that she swears like a truck driver. Either way, she’s fine with it. Nadia lives in Denver with her family of four.Nadia’s THQ posts |
Jake Bouma is the Director of Youth Ministries at Faith Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Clive, Iowa. His quest to be an autodidact recently ended with enrollment in a distance learning Master’s program at Luther Seminary. He’s a proud ENFP (Google it) who unashamedly named his cat after a dead theologian. He can be found tweeting and (occasionally) blogging. Jake’s THQ posts |
Dave Buerstetta is a life-long and ordained American Baptist who has served as one of the pastors at the Woodridge United Methodist Church (Woodridge, IL) since 1995. Striving (but mostly failing) to love God, love neighbors and love enemies makes social justice, contemplative practices, equality and sustainability some of Dave’s passions. Being a husband and father are pretty great too. Dave and his wife, Joann, have two children and live in Naperville, IL. Dave blogs irregularly at cantleaveunsaid.wordpress.com.Dave’s THQ posts |
Michael Danner is an ordained pastor of the Mennonite Church USA. He serves as Lead Pastor at Metamora Mennonite Church, a rural community on the outskirts of the empire (easy to miss unless you live nearby). When he is not actively engaged in husbanding, fathering, pastoring and blogging he confesses to spending far too much time trying to move objects with his mind…a practice he picked up at church as a kid. To date, it has not worked…but he isn’t giving up. His blog can be found at http://provokelove.net and he can be followed on Twitter @michaeldanner. Michael’s THQ posts |
Carl Gregg is a New York Times-reading, vegetarian-eating Progressive Christian, who also loves Centering Prayer, Ultimate Frisbee, and praying-by-biking-to-work. Carl has been the pastor of Broadview Church in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland since July 2010. He is a trained spiritual director, and will graduate with a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary in early 2012. He is currently transforming his dissertation into a popularized form for publication. Carl lives with his wife Magin LaSov Gregg, who is a Lecturer in English at Bowie State University. They have three cats and two dogs. Carl’s THQ posts |
Carol Howard-Merritt is a pastor at Western Presbyterian Church, an intergenerational congregation in Washington, D.C. Western’s deep commitment to serving the poor in the city has helped to initiate programs like Miriam’s Kitchen, a social service program for the homeless which provides a hot, nutritious breakfast and dinner for over 200 men and women each weekday. Carol is the author of Reframing Hope (Alban, 2010) and Tribal Church, (Alban, 2007). Carol is the co-host of God Complex Radio with Landon Whitsitt. And she blogs for the Huffington Post. Her own blog is at TribalChurch.org.Carol’s THQ posts |
Jennifer Johnsonis an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is the associate pastor for family and children’s ministries at First Presbyterian Church in Ashland, Kentucky. Her alter ego of the same name writes romance novels, and she has had four novels published since 2008 with two more books due out in 2011. She thinks God is pretty awesome for blessing her with a wonderful community of faith, a loving family, a smart dog, and the passion for writing sermons and stories.Jennifer’s THQ posts |
Tripp Hudgins is baptimonastic, mandolin-playing Jesus enthusiast, a preaching pastor, baptist cantor, liturgist, ecumenist, writer of articles, tangentist, and husband. He is the pastor of The Community Church of Wilmette in Wilmette, IL, a suburb of Chicago. His blog can be found at www.anglobaptist.organd he tweets as @anglobaptist.Tripp’s THQ posts |
Tony Jones is the author of many books, including The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing and Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community. He blogs at The Tony Jones Blog. And he’s teaching a D.Min. cohort on Christian spirituality at Fuller Theological Seminarybeginning in 2011.Tony’s THQ posts |
Mark Labberton is the Lloyd John Ogilvie Associate Professor of Preaching and Director of the Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to that, Mark was a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor for over 30 years, and he’s the author of The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice.Mark’s THQ posts |
Stephen Marsh is a grateful child of God who was born, raised and schooled in the windy city of Chicago. He was baptized in 1961, and between then and now has been called to serve God’s people in many capacities, from acolyte to bishop. Stephen pastored three urban Lutheran congregations in a span of twenty years, then served in metro Detroit as a bishop’s assistant for five years, and as bishop for one year. He has been a featured writer for The Lutheranmagazine, as well as a contributor to numerous resources for urban congregations. Last but not least, he is a life-long and long-suffering Cubs fan!Stephen’s THQ posts |
Sonya Olsonis a trained sculptor working as a preschool and elementary art teacher. An amateur theologian, she is learning to love the Old Testament as much as she loves her table saw. She lives in Saint Paul with two recovering barn cats.Sonja’s THQ posts |
Doug Pagitt is the founder of Solomon’s Porch -a holistic missional Christian community in Minneapolis. Www.solomonsporch.com. For more on Doug and his latest book, Church in the Inventive Age (sparkhouse press, 2010), check out http://dougpagitt.com/.Doug’s THQ posts |
Nanette Sawyer is the founding pastor of Grace Commons (formerly known as Wicker Park Grace), an emerging faith community that gathers in an art gallery on the west side of Chicago. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), she has blogged at The Christian Century’s lectionary blog, the Emergent Village Blog at Patheos, and at nanettesawyer.com. She has a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and an MDiv from McCormick Theological Studies, where she has also taught as adjunct faculty. She is the author of Hospitality: The Sacred Art. Nanette’s THQ posts |
Danielle Shroyer is the Pastor of Journey Church in Dallas, TX. She is the author of The Boundary-Breaking God: An Unfolding Story of Hope and Promise (Jossey-Bass, 2009) and blogs at www.danielleshroyer.com. Danielle lives with her husband, two children, and two wild and crazy dogs in Dallas.Danielle’s THQ posts |
Mike Stavlund writes from a 5-car pile-up at the intersection of his Christian faith and real life. A husband of over 15 years and a father of 4 children, he lives with his wife and 3 daughters in a small house outside Washington, DC. He’s a part of an innovative emergence Christian community called Common Table, a co-conspirator with the Relational Tithe, and a proud part of the collective called Emergent Village. He blogs at MikeStavlund.com, and his first book, “Force of Will”, will be published by Baker in the Spring of 2013.Mike’s THQ posts |
Roy Terry IV serves as the pastor of Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Naples, FL. In addition to working at the church, Roy enjoys supporting his wife and daughters equestrian pursuits, playing in the Holy Moly Band, getting a few tattoos and singing classic rock tunes at the local sports pub. He has been published in Christian Century, Duke Divinity Schools publication Divinity, The Ekklesia Project, and was a contributor in Diana Butler Bass’s work on re-traditioning churches, From Nomads to Pilgrims and Christianity for the Rest of Us.Roy’s THQ posts |
Phyllis Tickle is the award-winning author of many books and the founding religion editor at Publisher’s Weekly. Tickle is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer and writer on the subject. She is a lay eucharistic minister and lector in the Episcopal Church, the mother of seven children, and, with her physician-husband, Phyllis makes her home on a small farm in Lucy, Tennessee.Phyllis’ THQ posts |
Unvirtuous Abbey appeared on the Twitter scene on August 6th, 2010. They are a slightly sarcastic, yet hopeful, group of monks. They try to elevate the conversation with humorous tweets about the Bible, God, and Jesus. They also pray about geeks, Guns and Roses, and Charlie Sheen. They have been interviewed by The Practical Catholic and the Virtual Abbey. They consider themselves lucky to be among the guest bloggers of “The Hardest Question.”Unvirtuous Abbey’s THQ posts |
Lauren Winner is a deacon at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Durham, North Carolina, and an assistant professor of Christian spirituality at Duke Divinity School. Her books include Girl Meets God, and, soon, Still: Noted on a Mid-faith Crisis.Lauren Winner’s THQ posts |




Nadia Bolz-Weber is the founding pastor of House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. She is the author of 







Mark Labberton is the Lloyd John Ogilvie Associate Professor of Preaching and Director of the Lloyd John Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to that, Mark was a Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor for over 30 years, and he’s the author of The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice.

Doug Pagitt is the founder of Solomon’s Porch -a holistic missional Christian community in Minneapolis. 


Roy Terry IV serves as the pastor of 



